View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Calhoun, Institutional Archive of the Naval Postgraduate School Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Theses and Dissertations Thesis Collection 2006-12 Mexican foreign policy and UN peacekeeping operation s in the 21st century Encinas-Valenzuela, Jesus Ernesto. Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/2502 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS “Hacer o no hacer” [To do or not to do] MEXICAN FOREIGN POLICY AND UN PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS IN THE 21st CENTURY by Jesús E. Encinas-Valenzuela December 2006 Thesis Advisor: Douglas A. Borer Co-Advisor: Marcos T. Berger Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED December 2006 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS “Hacer o no hacer” [To do or not to do] Mexican Foreign Policy and UN Peacekeeping Operations in the 21st Century 6. AUTHOR(S) Encinas-Valenzuela, Jesús Ernesto 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Naval Postgraduate School REPORT NUMBER Monterey, CA 93943-5000 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING N/A AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES: The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. 12a. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited 13. ABSTRACT On December 1, 2000 a new administration took over the presidency of México. This event was especially anticipated because the new president, Vicente Fox, was coming from a different party than the PRI, the old official party. The arrival of President Fox brought important changes in the way of governing; with the moral obligation to be different, since the beginning of his administration one of the main goals was incline to pursue a more dynamic participation by Mexico in the political issues of the world. This was to be accomplished by taking up several measures that included enhancing economic trade with the United States and other nations, world summits in Mexico, improvement of human rights and others. Among those plans one attracted special attention when Mexico asked for a seat as a non-permanent member in the UN Security Council for the period 2002-2003 the third time in Mexican history. There were divided opinions on the subject because Mexico would be directly involved in UN decisions concerning internal situations of other countries, something that goes against the foreign policy principles of México. Eventually this discussion opened doors for other topics; one of them was the possibility of Mexico participating actively in peacekeeping operations by sending troops overseas; this initiated a biter debate in the political sphere. This study analyzes Mexican Foreign Policy and the historical perspective of the foreign principles stated in the Mexican Constitution’s article 89, followed by a discussion of their influence and interpretation in the political- military environment before and during the administration of President Fox. The study includes the analysis includes the new social and political scenario that México is facing in order to determine the odds and obstacles when dealing with military participation overseas. As México takes its place in the community of nations, the country’s leadership needs to search for possible options and test whether the new Mexican political apparatus has the flexibility to address current threats and requirements for international security. An analysis on the capabilities of the Mexican Armed Forces is also necessary in order to determine their capacity to execute multinational operations. Finally bring out the real benefits and/or risks from getting Mexico involved in these kinds of operations are identified. 14. SUBJECT TERMS Peacekeeping Operations; Mexican Foreign Policy Principles; 15. NUMBER OF Partido Revolucionario Institucional; Estrada Doctrine; Non-Intervention and Self- PAGES Determination 93 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF THIS CLASSIFICATION OF ABSTRACT REPORT PAGE ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UL NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited “Hacer o no hacer” [To do or not to do] MEXICAN FOREIGN POLICY AND UN PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS IN THE 21st CENTURY Jesús Ernesto Encinas-Valenzuela Commander, Mexican Navy/Marines B.S., Heroica Escuela Naval Militar (México), 1984 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN DEFENSE ANALYSIS from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL December 2006 Author: Jesús Ernesto Encinas-Valenzuela Approved by: Dr. Douglas A. Borer Thesis Advisor Dr. Marcos T. Berger Co-Advisor Dr. Gordon McCormick Chairman, Department of Defense Analysis iii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iv ABSTRACT On December 1, 2000 a new administration took over the presidency of México. This event was especially anticipated because the new president, Vicente Fox, was coming from a different party than the PRI, the old official party. The arrival of President Fox brought important changes in the way of governing; with the moral obligation to be different, since the beginning of his administration one of the main goals was incline to pursue a more dynamic participation by Mexico in the political issues of the world. This was to be accomplished by taking up several measures that included enhancing economic trade with the United States and other nations, world summits in Mexico, improvement of human rights and others. Among those plans one attracted special attention when Mexico asked for a seat as a non-permanent member in the UN Security Council for the period 2002-2003 the third time in Mexican history. There were divided opinions on the subject because Mexico would be directly involved in UN decisions concerning internal situations of other countries, something that goes against the foreign policy principles of México. Eventually this discussion opened doors for other topics; one of them was the possibility of Mexico participating actively in peacekeeping operations by sending troops overseas; this initiated a biter debate in the political sphere. This study analyzes Mexican Foreign Policy and the historical perspective of the foreign principles stated in the Mexican Constitution’s article 89, followed by a discussion of their influence and interpretation in the political-military environment before and during the administration of President Fox. The study includes the analysis includes the new social and political scenario that México is facing in order to determine the odds and obstacles when dealing with military participation overseas. As México takes its place in the community of nations, the country’s leadership needs to search for possible options and test whether the new Mexican political apparatus has the flexibility to address current threats and requirements for international security. An analysis on the capabilities of the v Mexican Armed Forces is also necessary in order to determine their capacity to execute multinational operations. Finally bring out the real benefits and/or risks from getting Mexico involved in these kinds of operations are identified. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................. 1 A. THE NEW VISION................................................................................ 1 B. PERSPECTIVES AND OPINIONS....................................................... 4 C. METHODOLOGY AND SUMMARY OF CHAPTERS .......................... 6 II. THE HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF THE MEXICAN CONSTITUTION AND FOREIGN POLICY............................................................................... 11 A. THE STARTING POINT ..................................................................... 12 B. THE ERA OF BENITO JUAREZ........................................................ 14 C. THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION, THE CONSTITUTION OF 1917, AND THE CARRANZA DOCTRINE................................................... 17 D. THE POST-REVOLUTION RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES ............................................................................................. 20 1. The Initial Stages Implementing the Constitution............... 21 E. THE INFLUENCE OF THE ESTRADA DOCTRINE (1930) ............... 23 F. THE